Welcome to the VP Finance & Operations portfolio
The nine divisions of the VPFO are responsible for the stewardship of UBC’s physical and financial assets, as well as safety and risk management for our university community.
We oversee a $3.98 billion budget, a $3.38 billion endowment, and all facilities on both campuses, as well as managing the university’s relationships with UBC Investment Management and UBC Properties Trust. In all the portfolio’s responsibilities, we are committed to the values of innovation, unity and accountability.

VPFO Strategic Plan 2024–2027
Having a strategic plan gives us a clear path, keeping everyone on the same page. Learn more about where we’re going next and how we plan to get there.
News from the VPFO
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Annual Drinking Water Quality Monitoring program report is now available
This report re-affirms UBC’s commitment to deliver safe and high-quality drinking water, and outlines the Drink Water Quality Monitoring Program and its results for the year 2020.
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Update on Air Canada Refunds for UBC
Air Canada recently revised their COVID-19 refund policy, and as UBC is a corporate account holder the university is centralizing this refund for members of our community who booked through the UBC Travel Program.
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Asset Replacement & Improvements joining Infrastructure Development
The Asset Replacement & Improvement (AR&I) division, including the Transition Team and Construction Office, has started the process of joining with Infrastructure Development to form a new, unified, project delivery team for the Facilities Group.
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BC Ministry of Advanced Education building auditors will be on campus starting June 21
BC Ministry of Advanced Education has contracted VFA Canada to audit 136 buildings on the UBC Point Grey campus starting June 21 to the end of January 2022. The last audit was undertaken in 2018.
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Procurement Modernization update — Sharing our service delivery levels
Since Workday go-live our Financial Operations and Operational Excellence teams in the VPFO have been developing ways to share key metrics relating to service delivery that are pulled from UBC’s new HR and Finance system.
People of the VPFO
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Shilan Keshvadi joins Safety & Risk Services as Associate, Health & Safety Education and Audit
Prior to joining us, Shilan was a Research Safety Coordinator at Simon Fraser University, where she acted as the EHS (environment, health, and safety) resource person for the Local Joint Health & Safety Committee to provide updates on policies and practices and address…
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Sandy Sull joins as the Finance Manager, Project Accounting
Sandy is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) with over 16 years of accounting experience across various industries. She will partner with other VPFO team members to continuously improve business processes and enable effective financial management throughout the portfolio.
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Stuart Gilbert joins Energy & Water Services as the Assistant Civil Engineer in Engineering & Utilities
Stuart will be responsible for developing and managing programs to achieve the implementation of infrastructure and services plans, reporting to Doug Doyle, Senior Manager, and work closely with the Mechanical Utilities unit.
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Celebrating UBC VPFO’s longest-serving staff
The VPFO team has a number of long service member inductees this year. This is an amazing personal accomplishment for the individuals and a true testament to their devotion to service at UBC. See the full list of VPFO team…
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New Project Coordinator and Project Supervisors begin their roles in Asset Replacement & Improvements
Asset Replacement & Improvements (ARI) is in the process of implementing a new approach to the Construction Office, which will allow for greater project delivery efficiency, and help our teams be more successful in service delivery to the community. A…